Typical coaxial connection systems such as radiofrequency (RF) connection systems are cable-to-cable assemblies and comprise a plug and jack affixed to coaxial cables. Such matable plug and jack connectors are disclosed generally in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,789,351; 4,697,859; 4,426,127 and 4,917,630. An example of a coax connector of a design in accordance with a generally accepted industry standard, is sold by AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. under the designation Size 8 Contacts, Part Nos. 228618-5 and 228596-5, suitable for use in connections having a frequency of about 1 gigaHertz maximum. An inner conductor is disposed within a dielectric sleeve, all retained within an outer conductor so that the inner conductor is precisely concentric within the outer conductor, and with opposing metal surfaces having selected precise diametrical relationships at all axial locations. The inner conductors are matable pin and socket contact sections, and the outer conductors are matable as a cylindrical plug within an array of cantilever beam arms of a receptacle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,351 is disclosed an electrical connector comprised of intermating halves including snap rings, a shroud and sleeve of geometries allowing blind mating of the connector halves with both halves being readily snapped into apertures of housings and assuring proper mating with varying parts tolerances; the outer conductor of the jack receives thereinto the forward end of the outer conductor of the plug comprised of inwardly deflectable cantilever spring beams to be abuttable with a ledge inside the plug outer conductor, with the mating connection all within a conductive shroud, and an axial spring element forwardly of the retention ring provides spring bias to the outer conductor of the jack relative to the housing to accommodate tolerance variations in parts and still maintain an intimate end butting contact with the opposite connector half.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,859 is disclosed fixedly mounting the jack within a rack, whereas the plug is spring loadably mounted to a panel; the entire plug member including the conductive shroud, the center conductor and the coaxial cable can float to accommodate the axial and radial misalignment, thus being especially useful in a rack and panel or "blindmate" situation for remotely located connection. An example of such a connector assembly is sold by AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Pa. under the designation AMP 2.8 Blind Mate coax having Part Nos. 413242-1 and 413249-1, and provides high signal integrity at frequency rating of 40 gigaHertz.
A coaxial connector assembly providing constant impedance across the entire length of the mated connection is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,630. The inner and outer conductors on both plugs of the pair are of unequal lengths such that one projects beyond the other. The longer inner conductor from one plug and the longer outer conductor from the other plug are designed to overlap each other when the connector is first electrically connected and only partially engaged, thereby defining an overlap region; the inner and outer conductors are constrained to be axially aligned for mating. Diameters of the opposed surfaces of the inner and outer conductors in the overlap region are chosen to provide a matching impedance to the impedance elsewhere in the connector, thus producing a constant impedance along the length of the connector, even when the connector is only partially engaged, resulting in the axial length of the overlap region varying from connection to connection. An example of a product of this general design is sold by The Phoenix Company of Chicago, Inc. under the designation "PkZ Connector", said to provide high signal integrity at up to a frequency rating of 32 gigaHertz.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/720,123 filed Jun. 24, 1991, it is disclosed to provide a coaxial connection comprising pin and socket terminals where the pin terminal is mounted by a dielectric body coaxially within an outer conducive ring, and where the socket terminal is held within an outer conductive sleeve by way of a dielectric sleeve. The outer conductive sleeve has a conductive shroud having resilient fingers adapted for coaxial engagement within the outer conductive ring. The pin terminal is coaxially positioned within the conductive shroud when mated with the socket. The conduction is characterized in that various regions of mismatched impedances are positioned intermediate the dielectric body and the dielectric sleeve, the lengths of the regions varying with the axial position of the pin relative to the socket, the regions being adapted to create reflection signals at transition positions between adjacent regions, where the refection signals are substantially self canceling in summation, thereby preventing power loss.
It is desired to provide a matable coaxial plug and jack connection system having compensation for impedance.
It is further desired to provide such a connection system wherein no spring member is required to generate axial bias on the conductors in order to attain impedance compensation, thereby lowering the requisite mating force of a multiposition connector.
It is additionally desired to provide a coaxial connection system providing high signal integrity in the frequency range of about 10 to 30 gigaHertz and higher.
It is also desired that such coaxial connection system be especially forgiving of axial and radial misalignment.